The untapped potential

women

“We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.” - Sheryl Sandberg

This certainly rings true when it comes to the untapped potential of women in the workforce. In 2017, World Economic Forum (WEF) estimated that it will take 118 years for economic equality to be achieved. This year, the gap has been calculated to take until 2186 - 170 years - to close. The report measures the relative discrepancies between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics. The report also says that “More than a decade of data has revealed that progress is still too slow for realising the full potential of one half of humanity within our lifetimes.”

The economic gap is caused by a number of factors, including women being paid almost half of what men receive, working on average 50 minutes a day longer and having a much slimmer chance of reaching senior roles. The solution seems obvious: get more women involved. The country, economy and community will be stronger and more prosperous if we invest in women and ensure that they too can contribute back significantly. According to a research conducted by McKinsey, women reinvest 90 cents of every $1 they earn back into their families; which says a lot about the potential benefit economically and for the society.

Keeping this in mind, CIRCLE, a social enterprise led by Sadaffe Abid, has been set up which aims to advance women’s economic participation and empowerment through innovative entrepreneurship and leadership labs, advocacy campaigns, digital skills and research. ‘Elevate’ is CIRCLE Pakistan’s flagship campaign which works towards ‘UN Global Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality’ and ‘UN Global Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth’, with a mission to promote women’s participation in the economy.

Recently, an 8-month leadership programme called ‘Growing Women Leaders Programme’ - held at Standard Chartered Learning Centre - commenced in September 2017 and came to its end with a session on building allies and mentorship with Shazad Dada, CEO Standard Chartered. The programme is designed under the Elevate initiative to mobilise CEOs and leaders to commit to gender diversity and grow a pipeline of women leaders. It included workshops on adaptive leadership (developed at Harvard University), webinars by coaches and leadership experts Carolyn Coughlin and Susan Dunlop on Lean in Dilemma, growing your self-authored voice, emotional intelligence and mentorship sessions with CEO UBL, Sima Kamil; CEO National Foods, Abrar Hasan; General Counsel, Company Secretary ICI, Kamila Khan and CEO Standard Chartered, Shahzad Dada.

The closing ceremony for the programme took place at the British Deputy High Commission in Karachi and was well attended by influential female and male leaders. CEOs of corporations like National Foods, United Bank, Unilever, Standard Chartered, Jazz and Mitsubishi Pakistan amongst others are ‘Elevate Champions’ to build diverse and inclusive organisations where women and men can thrive.

Elin Burns, British Deputy High Commissioner warmly hosted the event and presented the welcome keynote appreciating the work CIRCLE has undertaken to prepare female leaders. She said, “There is an opportunity gap of £23 trillion because of the lack of labour participation of women. It’s not just about the economics but it is all that potential, skills, insights that women can bring to the front.” She also talked about superwomen out there who have been ambitious enough to get so far in their professions, but for those who are a little shy, they might find it daunting to think they could do something similar. While sharing recollections of herself being shy in school, Elin emphasised on the responsibility of being a mentor and ambassador for such programmes, “There are amazing examples of women who have done incredible things in their fields like some of the guests present here. But, I realised that if had I been a 17-year-old in such an event, I would have been sat at the back so shy that I couldn’t put my hand up, even though I was interested. I wouldn’t even believe that I would have the capacity to do such an ambitious talk. So, as ambassadors for such programmes, it’s about recognising that you have the power to challenge and inspire in small ways as well as big. It’s your job to look for the girl sitting at the back too shy to raise her hand, ask her opinion and encourage them. Likewise, men can do the same by encouraging women to move forward.”

Chairperson Unilever, Shazia Syed and Quartulayen Pervaiz, a female pilot of PIA also shared their journeys and why women empowerment matters on the occasion. In conclusion, Ayesha Tammy Haq, lawyer and broadcast journalist, shared an inspiring story of a young girl from Chitral, who wanted to be a hairdresser. With the help of a small loan through microfinancing, she started with just a hair dryer and two combs; in a span of two years, she managed to have an entire building of people working under her. There are many success stories out there that prove that even with limited resources, one can achieve so much more than they can imagine. It is high time to put that untapped potential to use.

— Adeela Akmal